Green Hill Senior Living 150th Anniversary Gala Held April 28

On April 28, 150 guests and dignitaries gathered together last night at the Pleasantdale Chateau in West Orange to celebrate the 150th anniversary of Green Hill Inc. in New Jersey.

“Green Hill is a family, my family,” said President and Executive Director Toni Lynn Davis, the third generation of four generations of women who have served Green Hill. “As a non-profit agency for 150 years it is the support of friends, family members of our residents, grant makers, and Federal and State agencies that make it possible for us to continue in our mission to serve the seniors of New Jersey with a home that focuses on their individual needs, wants and dreams.”

Honorees at the celebration included the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, presented with the Lincoln Ames Award. Davies Landscape Architects was presented with the Green Hill Champion Award. The Honorable John F. McKeon, Assemblyman for the 27th district, The Honorable Robert D. Parisi , Mayor of the Township of West Orange, and the Honorable Susan McCartney, Councilwoman of the Township of West Orange, were given the 150th Anniversary Special Recognition Award.

Risa Lavizzo-Mourey MD, MBA, President and CEO of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation said via taped address, “Five years ago we celebrated with you as you broke ground on the 100th Green House Home in America….The Green House Homes project has shown that quality care is compassionate care. I am very proud and honored to accept the Lincoln Ames award this evening on behalf of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and all of the adopters of the Green House Project who have had the courage and foresight to lead the way to a new model of care.”

“I am humbled to be recognized for the small part that I may have played in these last years of your 150-year journey,” said the Honorable John F. McKeon. “Frank Lloyd Wright once said ‘the longer I live the more beautiful life becomes.’ On behalf of the thousands of lives Green Hill has enhanced and families who have been comforted, congratulations on this momentous occasion.”

The 150-year history of Green Hill began as the Society for Relief of the Respectable Aged Women in Newark, New Jersey in 1866. The not for profit enterprise began as a home for thirteen elderly women and soon grew to fill two buildings in Newark. In 1965 the organization, then called the Memorial Center for Women, moved to West Orange into the Green’s Hotel building and property and became Green Hill.

“What has impressed me the most about Green Hill during my tenure as a trustee has been to observe first-hand the passion and commitment that Green Hill has toward the seniors of the community,” said Chairwoman Lori Braender. “To understand the care and attention Green Hill staff give to the families and caregivers as they traverse the difficult terrain of planning and giving needed care for their loved ones has been truly remarkable.”